Books are an inexhaustible source of magic

Category Archives: Authors C

“She was the only creature in the world who would really care if something happened to me, even if it was only because I was the bringer of kibble.”Sylvie in The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Final Verdict: A paranormal romance lacking enough “paranormal” and a “romance” to make a great book.

For the full review, click the name of the book.

See the end of the review for HIDDEN CONTENT about the ending of The Splendor Falls.

“Emery cut in impatiently, ‘For crying out loud. Who do you think you are, Nancy Drew?’‘Hey,’ I snapped, because no one sniped at my sister but me, and Mark echoed with a stern ‘Chill, dude.’Phin was unperturbed. ‘Those books were highly unrealistic. Do you have any idea how much brain damage a person would have if she were hit on the head and drugged with chloroform that often?’”Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Final Verdict: If you like the Nancy Drew, you’ll enjoy Texas Gothic. Think of Amy as the modern day Nancy Drew, but where the mysteries include actual ghosts!

“There’s lots of kinds of chains. You can’t see most of them, the one’s that bind folks together. But people build them, link by link. Sometimes the links are weak, snap like this one did. That’s another funny thing, now that I think of it. Sometimes when you mend a chain, the place where you fix it is strongest of all.”Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville

Final Verdict:A great story for kids, with a strong little girl, some amazing creatures, and a great adventure.

Book Title: Spirit and Dust (Goodnight Family #2)Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore“It didn’t matter, because he was an employee of a criminal enterprise and I was an FBI consultant and, oh yeah, technically kidnapped and probably in the throes of some kind of Stockholm syndrome.” Daisy Goodnight, Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Cement-Moore

Final Verdict: Overall, an enjoyable paranormal mystery. The paranormal world and characters are interesting and are what make this book enjoyable. The mystery, however, may leave you disappointed in the end.

For many people the new Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire, has just been released in cinemas. I have not been able to make it to see the movie yet, and to my knowledge neither has Frances. Hopefully for those of you who have seen it, it was good. For the rest of us, here are some finds to help raise our excitement until we get to see the movie.

The first is an article about a very important re-cast between the first and second movie that you can read here. Apparently, I was not the only person who was rather upset that Buttercup, Primrose’s cat, was not even close to how he was described in the book. So before the filming of him in these later movies, he was recast to more closely resemble the description (and the implications from the name). While it might seem like a small issue, it was something that could easily have been fixed before the first movie came out!The second, is a great list of 15 tattoos people have gotten that were inspired by The Hunger Games Trilogy, you can see it here. They are supposed to be “rebellion inspired.” There are some really neat ones, but my favorite is below.Lastly, is a collection of 17 funny posts that are supposed to be funny to fans of the trilogy. You can read them here. There are some I really like and some that are just ok. While not really a joke, my favorite is the one below…as I am sure no one is surprised by it!Have you guys seen the movie? Are you planning on seeing it?

“And so it may come as a surprise to some that J.R. was a human man and that what he did was due to reactions which simply differed in some respects from the reactions of his fellows.”Autobiography of Jack the Ripper by James Carnac

Final Verdict: Avoid this book. If you want facts read a book by someone who has conducted research, or if you want fiction about Jack the Ripper, read something else.

So you know, Frances and I went and saw The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie recently. Afterwards, when we were discussing what we thought of the movie we kept coming back to some of the things from the book that had not been said in our review. Namely we discussed one of the major plot points/twists that happens near the end of the book. Since we decided to start adding secret content to the site, places where we discus the whole plot of things including spoilers, we knew we had to do one for this book. Normally we have very similar opinions on books and movies, however, we did have different opinions about this major plot point. So if you are curious about our thoughts, and have either read the book already or are ok with spoilers click through here to see this hidden post. There is also a link on the book review page.

So if you are like me, you are looking forward (or at least are mildly curious about how the movie will compare to the book) the next Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire. As there is still a lot of time, I thought I would make some suggestions on what to do until then. The first is clearly to re-read the books, or read them if you haven’t. I have only read the series once, and am looking forward to re-reading them (especially as I need inspiration for another t-shirt stencil).

The second thing you can do is to try and find a new series. Over at Buzzfeed, they have a list of series they suggest if you liked The Hunger Games. You can find the link here. There are some really good suggestions on there. I recognized most of the series, and started at least four of them! However, there were a couple of really neat ones that I haven’t heard of. A couple of these are going to be or have already been turned into movies.

The third thing you can do is obsess over any news or interview about the new movie. I will again link the trailer below to feed this need. I will also suggest this list of fun behind the scenes clips from The Hunger Games, click here.

What are you guys doing to prepare for the next movie? Just think you only have to wait until the 21st of November (for the UK, the 22nd for the USA) to see the next installment, and there are some interesting looking movie adaptations of books coming out before then!

“‘But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ Alice remarked.‘Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the Cat: ‘we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.’‘How do you know I’m mad?’ said Alice.‘You must be,’ said the Cat, ‘or you wouldn’t have come here.’”Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Final Verdict: A timeless classic that children and adults alike will love. Also, if you like any of the TV or film adaptations of Alice in Wonderland, you should definitely read the book!

Then one day the dragon had a face. I looked deeply into that face…and I killed it. For a moment, it seemed I had escaped death, and was born again. But then I realized…it is the fear of death that really makes you alive…”Moriarty in Moriarty written by Daniel Corey

Final Verdict: A great reimagining of a classic character with a complicated plot and intriguing art. Not for everyone, but a delight for those who love anti-heroes.